Product ReviewsMercenaries: Playground of Destruction (Sony PlayStation 2, 2005)

Its the Merc.

I bid on this game, cause I had a version of it for Xbox, and I wanted to see if there were any major diffrences between the two systems. For the most part, they are the same, though on the Xbox the loading is so much faster. This game is great, because there is not set plot per say. It just you in an open go anywhere enviorment and you can basicly do whatever it is you want. You can do the missions, to get info on where the cards are, but if you want the challenge, you can just go "hunting" for them without any clue of where they could be. After playing it once all the way thru, the second time around that is how I did it. Its actually kinda funner like that. All in all, the graphics on the PS2 are good. Not great but good. I have also noticed that when you go into the PDA and exit out, there is atleast a five second delay before the game resumes. That can get kinda annoying. All in all, its one of those games, that you will just not get bored of playing in an hour or so. It keeps you on edge, and when the bullets start flying, you best be ready to roll. Worth a shot if you like RPG's, without the normal confined areas.Read full review...

Best PS2 single player game I've ever played!

Mercenaries has always been my most treasured games, and it hurt when I had to sell it years ago. The idea of "If you can see it, you can take it, drive it, shoot it, destroy it or blow it up" is 100% true. It's a massive game of thousands of destroyable buildings, a huge arsenal to play around with and a great feel to the game. The learning curve is minor, and they introduce you to a very good tutorial string of missions that teach you how to move, drive and take down targets.

One of the most unique characteristics of this game is the air strike and faction system. The story is very engrossing and the environment you are in is great. You start out on the 48th parallel, also known as the demilitarized zone on the border of North and South Korea. You complete several missions there and you are moved up in to North Korea.

On a final note, their "Boss" system is also very well thought out. Set up like a deck of cards, you start off with the bottom cards and work your way up till you finally take down the Ace of each suite. Your main target is Song, the Ace of Spades. The Ace maps are also amazing, each one being very unique and expansive.

Mercenaries is a great game, and I've recomended it before and I will continue to recommend it to all of my friends and any gamer that I meet.Read full review...

Amazing Game!!! 100% Recommend!

This review has 2 parts to it. My Review and some information from Wikipedia which is a very good resource for accurate info on this game.
I will definitely miss Pandemic Studios who gave us such great Nostalgic games!

My Review:
This game is a part of my childhood. I believe I have played and beaten this game probably over 6 times! I sold my PlayStation 2 and haven’t had one for years. Finally rebought a PlayStation 2 again and this was the first game I had to get for it! Mercenaries is just so amazing! It actually helped me understand a lot about the Korean War as well. The gameplay is great!! An open world to explore as well as missions to complete all the time! I never got bored with this game. You can drive basically any vehicle in the game too! Definitely recommend to get!

Info from Wiki:

Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction is an action-adventure video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by LucasArts for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game features an open world environment, with elements of potential stealth gaming and reputation-based social mechanics, and is set during a fictitious multi-national military action in North Korea, circa 2007. The player takes control of one of three mercenary characters and completes contracts in the war-torn country for profit and to prevent a nuclear war. Critics gave favorable reviews to the game, in particular praising its focus on explosive mayhem.

Throughout the game, the player is tasked with hunting down and "verifying" 13 targets of a "suit". "Verification" involves either killing the target and taking a picture of the corpse, or subduing the target and radioing an AN helicopter to transport the prisoner away. After every verification the player is awarded with "Intelligence" and cash, which is usually doubled if the target is captured alive. In a suit, the number cards (from 2 to 10) are located throughout the in-game region, and they can be found by exploration or by receiving tips from friendly factions (usually after the completion of a mission). Each of the three face cards (Jack, Queen, King) is only made available by one of Chinese, South Korean, and Russian factions. A "face card mission" often involves specific objectives for the faction in addition to verifying the target. However, it is not necessary to verify all members of a suit to progress through the game. The player must gain only enough Intelligence by verifying targets before the AN gives the player the Ace contract. The Ace, the most important figure in a suit, is located in an isolated, often heavily fortified area, where the player is dropped off. The Ace contract usually consists of a variety of required and optional objectives that can be accessed in multiple routes, before the Ace is available for verification. After the Ace is verified, the player is transported back to the main region to hunt down another suit of targets.

The PS2 version of the game suffers from an glitch, where saving the same campaign playthrough in multiple slots can result in corrupted data on the memory card though saving in one slot each for different playthroughs with different characters is apparently fine.

If the player attempts to leave the game world (leaving N. Korea), they will effectively enter a restricted area where either the AN Task Force or the North Koreans have supreme air power in those areas, bearing great lethality that serves as an invisible wall to bar the player from going out of bounds. Entering these areas immediately prompts the players with a warning message (either by an unnamed Allied radio operator or by your support operative, respectively) telling them to get out quick. Choosing to ignore this warning prompts another message, informing that enemy planes are inbound. This is followed by three fighters appearing to shoot the player down with a large salvo of explosives that are impossible to completely dodge and tough to survive. These are areas that usually surround the province (with the exception of the Black Gate until after the Ace of Clubs is verified) and are marked in red.Read full review...

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Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: nanasmom07

Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction Review

I used to own this game when it first came out, but then it got stolen. After about 5 years I decide to go looking for the game and found it again on Ebay being auctioned for a cheap price. I didn't care about the scratches or the condition of the case or disc as long as I am able to play it, and sure enough I was able to play it with no problems. The game is awesome it brought back many memories. This is a classic on my PlayStation 2 video games list.Read full review...

Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

A first shooter game with the ability to work with different factions for different abilities, such as calling in strikes or artillery back-up. With the use of a 52 card deck to identify targets, you will find yourself thinking of creative new ways to capture targets as there is no structured storyline. A good game with a revamped physics engine, bodies fly realistically and so do helicopters, as you are able to hijack anything in sight. If you can see it, you can steal it, definitely a plus. This game is definitely worth checking out, if not buying.Read full review...

Great 3rd Person Shooter for the PS2, and a fantastic game in general.

Such a classic game... it's a shame they didn't continue the series past Mercenaries 2 for PS3. This title is one of the best shooters for the PS2, and although its framerates will occasionally stutter, its massive open world environment and highly detailed environments make up for it.

There really aren't many games from this era that feature an almost completely destructible environment. There is so much fun to be had in demolishing an entire city with packs of C4, or detonating a giant bridge right out from under your enemy.

The only negative thing I can say about this game is that it is not 100% stable. I have had the game crash on me at very pivotal points in the story, and thus I have gotten into the habit of saving my progress every 15 minutes or so. It's not a deal-breaker, but it is irritating.

Overall, this game is a fantastic buy for anyone who loves to play older games, especially shooters. Don't knock it just because it is a 3rd person shooter, give it a try- you won't be disappointed!Read full review...

Great classic game !

Bought this game about 7 years ago ! I let a friend hold it and never got it back ! I understand why ! Awesome game if you love shooting enemies , dropping bombs , lasering in missles and not minding who's team you're on !
The video is nice (only because it's a PS2 game and not a PS3 game)however , if you have a 5.1 or (like me)a 7.2 audio system , you can really make it sound like you're actually in battle with them !
Playground of destruction is the perfect name for this game ! It's one of only a short list of PS2 games that I would truly recommend ! I only wish the sequel was as good !Read full review...

Mercenaries - Playground of Destruction

I have mixed feelings on this game as it allures to non-stop carnage and destruction. In reality this is more of a military "Grand Theft Auto" than say "Call of Duty" shooter. As one of three possible mercenaries you have to perform missions with the various North Korean factions to earn money to buy more weaponary and advance to capture/kill the bad guys. Did I mention you have to pay for your own air-support?? So while all the structures can be demolished, you have to pay for the stuff out of your back pocket.
There are "mini game" missions as well to earn money like racing a jeep through checkpoint in a certain amount of time.
So overall it's not a bad game, just not what I was expecting. It's a slightly older game so the graphics are not to today's standards. Nevertheless, if you could find a budget version of this ($10-15.00) it's probably worth a peek.Read full review...

Must have classic war game.

I love this game and playing takes me back to 2005. The game itself is great. Lots of missions lead to hours of game play. For 2005 it was kind of ahead if its time.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: ikedog

mercs 4 ps2

id like to give this game an excellent. it is pretty good and once you beat the game it leaves you wanting more. But the AI can get kinda predictible, and the load screens are long. That would be excusable, but boths the discs ive used are skippy and glichy. Hit your ps2 above the disc to make it work---seriously. Overall, great game, horrible production. 4.5/5Read full review...